As the world became a blurry mess, men fell dead to the ground. It was quick and effortless, they simply were alive one moment and dead the other. Giris’ heart pounded heavily, both for fear of his life and the example of its fragility in his own eyes. Another bolt came whistling from above, but this time one of the soldiers blocked it with a shield. It was then that he jumped back into his senses. "Going to need your help with these ones sir." Wulfus informed him as Eyesore squadron began to surround the Brighthawks. The men in bleached tabards were packed in the center with spears and shields. Wulfus had signalled beforehand for Garidge to stop shooting, it would be a waste.

Giris checked his magiglove, the sign etched into it was that of form, the magic that would allow him to manipulate objects. He squeezed the handle of the glove and focused on the spears that the soldiers held, yanking them out of their hands and lifting them high into the air. The soldiers attempted to jump to reach them at no avail. They were now unarmed and surrounded. “Good thinking.” Wulfus said quietly before turning to the opposition. "I'll give you two options. You either walk on back to your ship or we'll beat you until you do it."

One of the soldiers spat on the ground. "You are foolish to think we’d listen to scum, not even in death." He unsheathed a short blade from his hip and the others followed suit.

As the Honeans prepared for a fight, Giris spoke up. "I'll handle this." Suddenly, all spears came down at once tip first. A serenade of clinking helmets resounded as they reached their point of impact. Quickly, the soldiers fell to the ground accompanied by the spears. They were now unconscious, as Giris had preferred.

Wulfus crouched down to ensure they would not be leaving before them. "The guards will sort them out." He said after giving each one a quick shake. “We need to worry about getting into the church.”

In order to reach the back door, the men had to get over a tall, rusted fence. Giris’ lack of physical strength made the whole ordeal completely uncomfortable, although he thought that going through the front entrance would be moreso. Once getting around to the other side, he fell down from much higher than he wanted and his legs ached from the pain. "I apologize if I slow you down." He said as he steadied himself.

"Don’t worry about it High Mage. You already saved us some time with the way you handle those Brighthawks." Wulfus said with a smile.

The back door was made of old wood that was slowly beginning to tear apart. A single push let out a high pitch creak that put them on edge. The feeling did not subside as they entered the hallway, a dark and shadowy place. Both sides appeared the same but Wulfus led them left. Many voices could be heard through the walls, shouts and conversations that were too muffled to be understood. They walked in a line against the wall, spears up so that they would not stretch out over the corner. It was a test of courage and Giris considered it one of the most stressful moments he had ever experienced. Footsteps caused Wulfus to suddenly freeze, leading the men to slam into each other in an attempt at stopping. "Think you can deal with this one?" Wulfus whispered to Giris with his spear at the ready. Giris nodded and pulled a signcaster from his bag quickly switching the one on his magiglove with it. The soldiers watched him with curiosity as he did things that they did not understand. The signcaster he used contained two circles instead of one and each circle was etched with a different sign. As he focused his mind a great thin layer of blue and orange particles exploded from his arm. The particles were launched in the direction of the sound at a speed so fast that they disintegrated and turned into a cloud of dust after colliding into the wall.

The footsteps stopped, "Who's there?" A startled voice asked. The person soon fell into a fit of coughing until finally, a loud thump was heard and all was silent. Giris held out his hand to stop Wulfus from moving.

"Watch out with that gas, it'll do the same to you if you try to breath it in." He closed one of the tubes for his magiglove preventing that side from leaking magic. He used his magic again to release a strong rush of wind from the glove, pushing the gas into the corner to let them pass. "This will keep them from coming from behind us." He said as it spread out behind them. The soldier who would have caught them now lay on the ground unconscious. They entered a long hallway that eventually opened into the place of worship. None of them intended to go there and Giris had the feeling that the church would never hide something precious so obviously in sight.

As they continued down the hallway Wulfus pointed to a door ahead of them. It was sturdier than the others, with a metal frame that held it tight. The Sergeant nodded towards one of the soldiers behind Giris. The man pulled a large set of lockpicks from a small pouch and began to pick the door. The other soldiers surrounded him and kept a lookout for anyone else. If they did not already hear the sounds he made, they would easily see them standing out in the open. The soldier calmly moved the picks around until the lock clicked. The sound made everyone freeze up for a moment, worried that the sound had not really come from the door.

Behind the door was a descending staircase that was dimly lit by a single torch. The place was cramped and the men walked single file, their footsteps masked by the stone surface. The soldier at the back slowly closed the door but was unable to prevent it from being completely silent. At the bottom of the steps came the sound of conversation. Giris and the others made sure to listen.

"I do this in his service. He has requested that all keys go to him. I cannot simply go empty handed." A thick voice commanded

"These keys were made to imprison the evil which had taken over our god’s most worthy servant! You must not take it, I forbid it!" A gruff, defiant voice responded

Giris tapped Wulfus lightly on the shoulder. "Let's wait a second, eavesdropping may prove useful." He whispered. Wulfus nodded and signalled for his men to halt. The entrance was right ahead of them, but they were too far back to be seen.

"I have told you this already! My liege has spoken to god and god has told him to release the emperor's seal. It is his request that you give me this key, It is God's request!"

"I doubt that your liege is even close to being worthy enough to speak to god! How is it that he can speak to god when us priests have been attempting to for millenia?"

"Because he is his chosen disciple, the only one with the gall to see through with his orders. But I have said too much already. Open this door or meet his fury!"

"As you wish, High Priest.” The priest said in a voice riddled with anger. “I only open the door for you because of your position, but do not think for a second that I believe your fictitious tale."

"Better that you think that." The sound of a key twisting was loud enough for the soldiers to hear. “Your poor faith has made you unworthy of partaking in the fruits of his plan. Giris gave a signal to charge as he began to scribble something into his signcaster.

"Not another step Brighthawk!" Wulfus said as the soldiers poured into the room. The walls were made of bland stone with the only feature being the door across from them and the magic torch that glowed above it. Besides that, the place was barren. Staring at the new people with faces of surprise were the church's priest and the Brighthawk “High Priest” in white robes.

"Ah, the mercenaries from before. It seems my men did a poor job at chasing you off." The mage frowned as he clasped his hands.

"You shouldn't have sent a group of pushovers after us if you wanted to get the job done." Wulfus insulted the man with a smirk.

He sighed. "What a pack of fools. How did you learn of this place anyway? Was it pure luck, or do I have more things I need to worry about?"

"Old man, the only thing you need to worry about is the fact that you’re not going to be alive in a few minutes."

The mage chuckled but managed to compose himself. "You soldiers are always so businesslike, do you even know what it is behind this door? What about you mage, have they at least told you?"

"I am well aware and just like my comrades I have no intention of letting you take it." Giris answered.

"That is a shame, it really is, if only you knew the reason why I was here... I won’t say it. Not to a group of men who make their coin by killing. Perhaps if you were to lay down your weapons I could consider it. But you are wasting time. Already the Prosperians are aware of our incursion. So prepa-" The man jumped out of the way of a sudden reply. Giris had sent a stream of bright lightning toward him, riding that lightning was a wave of fire that lit up the room with the brightness of the sun. The Brighthawk released his own magic in retaliation, a great shield of wind that surrounded him and redirected the violent outburst into the wall. The priest cowered in fear behind him as he did, saving himself from blaze.

"I suppose I underestimated you." The mage growled as he glared at Giris with killing intent. "Try to dodge this!" Like a great wave, bright blue wind magic exploded from the ground and slammed into Giris and Eyesore squadron, throwing them into the cold stone wall. "And I too can cast two spells at once as well." He lifted his other arm to reveal that he was wearing two magigloves. Like Giris, the man also had a high tolerance to magic. A green glow emitted from the mages hand and those opposite of him looked around, surprised by the lack of bright lights. That was until they tried to move. Giris moved a leg forward only to find it stuck to the floor. The stone of the room had enveloped one of his boots like quicksand and hardened itself to glue him to the ground. With quick reflexes Giris let out a stream of fire towards the man to keep him occupied as he quickly removed the sign for lightning from his glove. He focused his mind on the area around his boot and allowed the fire to naturally stream toward the High Priest. The magic he used began to crush the stone that had entrapped him. it was of no use, the High Priest had turned the majority of the stone below them into a liquid mess. He began to slowly sink, and could not get out. This High Priest was proving to be a much more of a threat than any soldier.

Giris had another idea, one that would give him time to think. He quickly changed the sign that he had just used and aimed his focus on the ceiling above the man. He was forcefully pulling it down with his mind. An action that strained both his mind and body. It was as if his mind was going against the full weight of the stone. Slowly, it began to break down and give in.

"Can you do something?" Wulfus said to him fearfully as he tried to struggle out of the melting floor. They were at knee height now and the High Priest was beginning to laugh to what he believed was an impossible escape. Above him, stone began to crumble into dust and crack. both the fire and the magic that protected him crowded his vision too much to notice. That was what allowed Giris to easily bring the roof upon him. It came down quickly, too quickly for the High Priest to avoid it. There was too much rubble on the man to see him now and his adversaries did not care enough to check. They were too focused on the fact that they were about to be buried alive.

"It should stop getting deeper by now." Giris said as his glove began to glow green, causing the substance to lift up off the ground with them on it. It slowly pulled them to the solid surface before slipping back into a pool of liquid stone that covered a portion of the room.

“You really are good with that magic High Mage.” Wuifus said as he approached the rubble.

"So was that Brighthawk." Giris said as he checked to see if any residue was left on his boots.

A sudden squeak of the door behind them caught everyone by surprise. "Are you still down here sir?" Came a yell from above.

"In here!" Said Wulfus as he opened the door that the two priests had been arguing over. They quickly packed into the place as the rumbling of many footsteps came down. the room they entered was a small hexagonal one. There was a desk in the corner of the room and in the center, a stone pedestal. The pedestal was what attracted everyone's attention because laying upon it was the geokey, a flat metallic object with a magic crystal in the center.

The crystal gleamed with a warm pale hue. Giris was the first to come to it. He was transfixed by the sight, it was magic technology that had been disregarded since the fall of the empire. Even in the Honean Magikaynium they were rare. "There you are." Said Wulfus to a figure hiding behind the pedestal. "Get up." He pulled up the man forcefully revealing the priest who had been arguing before.

That was when shouts came from the room outside. "Are you in there sir?" called the soldiers as they tried to move through the rubble.

Wulfus whispered to the priest. "Call them off."

The priest nodded with wide, fearful eyes. "We are fine brothers." He said shakily. "He shall be with you soon."

"The Prosperians attack us sir! They've brought very skilled fighters to face us. Our defenses hold but they may break soon. We will return to our duties but you must hurry!" The soldiers scuttled off with quick steps allowing everyone a chance to breathe calmly.

“We’ve got little time then.” Wulfus said. “We better pick this up and get going before they decide to start fighting in here.

"What you are doing is madness!" The priest suddenly said. "You cannot take the key. It will lead to events that will doom us all!"

"I am very well aware of that." Giris said as he picked up the glass case. "But I don’t intend to let the Brighthawks have it. I think you know as well as I do what they’ll do once they get their hands on whatever this key leads to.”

"Yes." The priest said helplessly as he went to the desk. "Could you atleast take a look at this document that was stored here. It will give you a better argument than myself if you choose to read it.”

“If you think it won’t waste my time, hand it here.”

“We best get going.” Wulfus differed.

“I doubt Brighthawks will allow themselves to lose under the scrutiny of their god. Give me a few more moments Sergeant.”

The Priest handed an old letter to him. “This document is in Old Empirical. Can you read it?"

"Yes, I've studied for years." He took the letter from the priest's hands and read aloud.

“Lord Howzer,

I hope you have found yourself in good surroundings Sir Howzer. Terrible news has befallen the capital today. Our glorious leader has fallen under a foul sickness that not even our brightest doctors can cure. It is he who has asked me to write this letter and to entrust to you this object of great importance. While His Brilliance has not spoken much of his current state, I have learned enough to teach you of what you must do. Within that package is a geokey. For remembrance sake it is a magical object that, once linked to three other keys, can project a map which directs to a specific location. It also acts as the key to that destination, hence the name. In order for it to be of use at least four are required. But do not worry yourself, our leader has ordered me to spread the keys to the many other great lords that he dearly respects. For the specific key that you may be holding by now, hide it, put it somewhere that only our leader and his kin shall know. It leads towards an object of great power, power with its own will. I have seen it myself, a most unholy creation which follows our lord at every moment. But you must keep that secret too, there will be no telling what panic that could cause to our people. As I have already inquired though, you must not worry yourself. I have ensured that this information will be protected until it is needed next. So hide this thing and pay it no heed. I wish well upon you, your children, and your wonderful wife.

Sincerely,

Onelius Wilder”

The name at the end of the letter was the man's signature. It's owner was easily recognized by Giris and likely by anyone who had studied the formation of the Brighthawk Empire. "This was written by the Lord Chancellor?" He asked with extreme curiosity.

"Yes." The priest responded. "It has been here ever since it arrived at the door of Lord Howzer. do you see now why I wish for you not to take it?"

Giris shook his head. "If this so-called ‘unholy creation’ exists then I will not just leave it here for the Brighthawks to take. I hope you can at least feel at ease from the fact that I do not intend to use it with ill will.”

"You expect me to trust the word of a mercenary!" The priest pleaded.

"Do you trust the word of the Brighthawks?"

The priest sighed. "Fine, but do not come back here! You have all disgraced the peace of this church!"

"I do not believe in your Brighthawk god. You shouldn’t expect me to return." He looked back to the soldiers who had been silently looking around the room and speaking amongst themselves. "Let's get out of here." They all nodded in unison and moved with swiftness.

While the hallways of the church were now completely empty, the stench of smoke had enveloped the place and made it difficult to breath. Giris guessed that there was something burning outside. Luckily the Prosperians had not decided to set fire to their own church. They quickly returned to the fence. There were Prosperian guards on the other side, making them stop in their tracks. Without second thought they put their spears in between the open spaces in the fence, preventing their escape. "Wait." Said one of the guards looking over his shield. "You are not wearing white. Who are you?"

Giris put himself forward. "We were just leaving, about to get out of the city to be exact."

"That is all well and good, but why were you in this church? And I won't believe you for a second if you said it was for your morning prayer!" The guards laughed amongst themselves as Giris thought of an excuse.

"The white dressed mercenaries in this church had done a great insult to us many months before. Consider this help to you, we caused a minor annoyance that shall cost them dearly." He thought it just enough to convince them without saying anything revealing.

"Fine." The soldier said. "You may leave but do not stay for too long! Our comrades may not consider you as friendly.”

"Thanks.” Giris said as they began to climb over. The guards scattered to let them through.

They took the same path back to the port. Wulfus waved his hands in the air towards the light tower to signal Garidge that they were leaving. As they began to leave Giris looked back towards the church one more time. A large plume of smoke rose from the courtyard where sounds of battle erupted. Shouts of both anger and pain, clashing of steel against steel, and magic to tie it all together. It was an event that Eyesore did not want to be a part of. They walked along the beach to avoid fighting, where high waves clashed against the sand. "Looks like things will be getting worse from here." Wulfus said looking up to the sky. Two ships Prosperian warships were approaching the city at high speed, likely brought by the high reaching smoke. Opposite of them was a great storm, which moved in a hasty attempt to quell the flames.